The life of Richard Nixon, the 37th President of the United States, is perhaps classic material for a film project. For many years, a number of movies featuring his biography and the key events in his life, particularly while serving as the president from 1969 to 1974, have already been made. It is also interesting to note that these films about the only U.S. president to resign the office are now primarily acknowledged as critically acclaimed motion picture pieces.
“All the President’s Men” (1976)
“All the President’s Men” is an award-winning political thriller based on the non-fiction book of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the two The Washington Post journalists who added their names in history with their investigations on the Watergate scandal. The story focuses on the happenings during the time of the 1972 elections, which soon direct the reporters to suspicious information that eventually would eventually lead them to a political scandal involving the U.S. president. This film helmed by Alan Pakula and starred by Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Woodward and Bernstein is a tightly structured and fiercely paced motion picture piece that engages its audience from beginning to tned.
“Nixon” (1995)
The biographical drama “Nixon” spans the story of the life of a young boy who would eventually rise to a successful U.S. presidency that ended in shame. This Oliver Stone film with Anthony Hopkins playing the role of the adult Nixon goes beyond a literal translation of the former president’s life by cinematically digging into the nooks and crannies of his possible mindset, emotional struggles, and personal and professional conflicts. This rendition of Nixon’s life shows a more psychological point of view that attempts to explore the varying sides of a boy growing up from a harsh childhood, a husband and father to a family entangled with his political life, and a man who finds himself rising and falling in the world of politics.
“The Assassination of Richard Nixon” (2004)
Screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, “The Assassination of Richard Nixon” is a crime drama based on the real-life events involving the disturbed man Sam Bicke who takes extreme measures to assassinate Nixon during the time that his political career is on its downfall through the Watergate scandal. Directed by Niels Mueller and with Sean Penn playing as Bicke, this film effectively takes viewers into the depressed man’s psychological struggles as he plots his ambitious political assassinationof the U.S. president. His plan features an attempt to hijack a plane he intends to fly into the White House to kill his ultimate enemy, Richard Nixon.
“Frost/Nixon” (2008)
The Ron Howard historical drama “Frost/Nixon” features a dramatic retelling of the post-Watergate TV interviews between British talk-show host David Frost and Richard Nixon, now a resigned president seemingly trying to hide himself from the public eye. Based on the 2006 play by Peter Morgan, this film dramatizes the series of interviews the two men had in 1977. Frank Langella as Nixon and Michael Sheen make this critically acclaimed piece a weighty and eloquent verbal duel between a jet-setting TV personality trying to make a name for himself and disgraced president intending to save a legacy.
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